Shakhtar stay out in front

FC Shakhtar Donetsk hold a three-point lead in the table as the Ukrainian Premier League season reaches the halfway stage.

Domestic consolation
Despite a disappointing European campaign in which Bernd Schuster's side lost to FC Lokomotiv Moskva in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League before being eliminated by FC Dinamo Bucuresti in the first round of the UEFA Cup, Shakhtar made a successful start to the domestic season to establish a narrow advantage over traditional rivals FC Dynamo Kyiv at the start of the three-month winter break.

Winning start
Shakhtar remain unbeaten after 15 league games, having dropped only six points all season. winning their first eleven games under new coach Schuster. Their European disappointments led to a drop in confidence, but despite that the team managed to preserve their lead in the standings.

Prokopenko post
However, Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov has made one structural change within the club, appointing former FC Dinamo Moskva coach Victor Prokopenko as sporting director on Monday. "Prokopenko will prepare analytical reports about our team’s performances," Shakhtar said on their official website.

Champions League challenge
In second place, Dynamo have perhaps been distracted by a demanding Champions League campaign in which they have defeated FC Lokomotiv Moskva and Arsenal FC to leave themselves with a realistic chance of reaching the knockout stages.

Sole defeat
Nevertheless, their only league defeat so far this season came in the second round of matches - 1-0 against FC Chornomorets Odesa - while Shakhtar took a 1-1 draw from their visit to Kiev on 5 October.

'We will fight to the end'
Dynamo trailed Shakhtar by seven points at one stage last season yet still came back to win the title and, having suffered a number of injury problems in the first half of the season, are confident of repeating the feat this time around. "Dynamo never give up and we will fight till the end," said club president Ihor Surkis. "We will make our squad stronger during the winter break."

European adventure
UEFA Cup participants FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are nine points off the pace in third place, with FC Metalurh Donetsk in fourth position and Chornomorets fifth. Dnipro have an excellent chance of becoming the first Ukrainian side for more than a decade to still be involved in the UEFA Cup when it resumes in spring, as they hold a 2-0 lead against NK Dinamo Zagreb at the halfway stage of their second-round tie.

No room for error
At the bottom of the table, promoted side FC Zirka Kirovograd are in 16th place, level with FC Tavriya Simferopol on eleven points. However, just seven points separate FC Vorskla Poltava in eighth place from the bottom of the table, meaning there is still all to play for – at both ends of the table – in the second half of the season.